Community of Our Lady of Peace

09/11/2015

September 11, 2015 Service of Prayer and Remembrance

An outdoor ecumenical Service of Prayer and Remembrance will be held at 8:00 p.m. at the steps of Our Lady of Peace Church in memory of the victims of September 11 and in honor of the families, survivors, and all those who were served in the rescue and recovery mission.

Parishioners of Our Lady of Peace have been maintaining a daily vigil and rosary at the steps of the church since the evening before the church was closed on July 31, 2015. The church was caught up in the the largest restructuring of parishes and churches in the history of the Archdiocese of New York.

Parishioners have filed recourse with the Vatican against the decree of merger with the parish of Saint John the Evangelist, which is located in the lobby of the headquarters of the Archdiocese of New York. According to the decree of merger, the new parish entity is now called Saint John the Evangelist - Our Lady of Peace, but the implementation of the civil merger will not take place until September 2016. The Congregation for the Clergy at the Vatican recently notified the parishioners that study of the recourse of Our Lady of Peace was extended to November 1, 2015.

The church is located in one of the oldest neighborhood districts awarded landmark status - The Treadwell Farm Historic District. Neighbors and landmark organizations, such as Friends of the Upper East Side and the New York Landmarks Conservancy, have joined in support of maintaining the status of the church in the community.